The Berdache of Early American Conquest Essay -- Spaniards Spanish His

The Berdache of Early American Conquest Methodological Introduction This paper attempts to link the facet of queer theory that explains gender and sexuality as culturally constructed identities, with the presence of the berdache in the New World at the time of the Spanish conquest. By analyzing the construction of gender and sexuality among the native peoples, in contrast to the ideologies of the Spanish, I found a clash arose which explained, in some sense, the incompatibility of the two cultures. The differences between the two cultures' gender construction established support for the very "un'natural'" or "in'essential'" nature of gender, sexuality, and the body as a means of self-identity. By realizing the issue of power and where it lies within individuals and societies, hierarchical social constructions are revealed to be connected with sexual roles. This dominant/subordinate relationship present in both cultures defines and substantiates the role that power plays in the cultural context. The use of queer theory to elucidate these complicated s ocial and sexual relationships helps to explain the way this power structure maps onto the native people's relationship with the berdache. This paper will show how the Spaniards mapped their conceptions of power and sexual relationships onto the natives. It will address this conception by carefully analyzing the presence of hermaphrodites in Theodore de Bry's copper etchings. By visualizing the berdache through the eyes of the Spaniard, the concept of sexualizing the foreign natives is revealed to be thickly imbedded in their own gender norms. This argument is two-fold. First, I will support the queer theory view of gender construction by using the native berdache as a... ...he with queer theory, the misconceptions of the Spaniards and the persecution of this particular group as "sodomites", becomes valuable in defining where specified roles of gender and sexuality are really established. Works Cited: Bucher, Bernadette. Icon and Conquest. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, (1981). Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality. Robert Hurley (ed). (New York, 1990). Klages, Mary. "Queer Theory" [http://www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages /queertheory.html] (April 9, 1998). Kowalski-Wallace, Elizabeth (ed.). Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory. Garland Publishing, Inc.: New York, (1997). Sedgewick, Eve Kosofsky. The Epistemology of the Closet. University of California Press: Berkeley, (1990). Trexler, Richard C. Sex and Conquest. Cornell University Press: Ithaca, (1995). Illustrations:

Erickson Integrity Versus Despair Essay

Older adults spend more time thinking and reflecting about their past than they use to. They also tend to be much less critical now of decisions made years ago then they do at that time. They often remember dreams they wanted and how close they may have come. Is this process of reflection something that older adults go through? This may be in response to retirement, the death of a spouse or close friends, or may simply result from changing social roles. According to Erikson (1982), a personality theorist who examined aging as a stage of development, this struggle comes about as older adults try to understand their lives in terms of the future of their family and community. As the older adult enters late life, they begin the struggle of integrity and despair, which is the process by which people try to make sense of their lives. Thoughts of the older adults own death is harmonized by the understanding that they will live on through their extended family. Erikson calls this understanding a â€Å"life-affirming involvement† in the present. Within the integrity versus despair, older adults encounter a life review, the process by which older adults reflect on the events and experiences of their lifetime. The most important event at this stage is coming to accept one’s whole life and reflecting on that in a positive manner. Erikson believed that to achieve integrity, a person must come to terms with the choices and events that have made his or hers life unique, and accepting one’s life for what it is. He believed older adults that reached integrity become self-affirming and self-accepting, and they judge their lives to have been worthwhile and good. The adult feels a sense of fulfillment about life and accepts death as an unavoidable reality. Those people who can look back on their lives with happiness and decide that they have lived a well rounded and fulfilling life will gain ego integrity and will not be fearful of death. â€Å"People develop ego integrity and accept their lives if they succeed, and develop a sense of wisdom a â€Å"detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself†(Erikon’s Psychosocial Stages of Development, 2009). If a person looks back on their life and remembers negative thoughts and dissatisfaction with life they will develop despair and experience a fearfulness and anxiousness about death. â€Å"Too much wisdom leads to presumption, too much despair to a disdain for life† (Erikson’s Psychosocial  Stages of Development, 2009). It has also been said that â€Å"children won’t fear life if their elders have enough integrity not to fear death.†(Psychological Theory- Erikson, 1995). I think that Morrie Schwartz is a great example of Erikson’s integrity theory. Morrie’s basic core of integrity ran deep, more so than any one person. Morrie showed this when he commented on his own battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease â€Å"It was very important for me to make clear to myself that my body is only part of who I am. We are much greater than the sum of our physical parts. The way we look at the world is fashioned by our values and our thoughts about good and evil, things that go into making up who we are†.

Sexism, Racism and Stereotypes in South Park - 2128 Words

Shivam Aggarwal Research Paper Professor Aimee Sands Rhetoric B SEXISM, RACISM AND STEREOTYPES IN SOUTH PARK Racial Stereotyping, racism, gender stereotyping and sexism are some of the strengths of South Park. This TV show was created with a purpose to make racism and sexism funny and acceptable. South Park is a television show that was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It circumvents the lives of 4 boys namely Eric Cartmen, Kenny McCormick, Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski around the town of Colorado. This show mainly aims at picking up various stereotypes in different societies and making fun of them. It is highly racist and makes fun of different genders and performs the act of gender†¦show more content†¦When watching the show not only must you respect his authori-TAH! you might also reconize Cartmens explosive declamations of West Si-EED. Analysing the character of Stan Marsh. This character has been modeled around Trey Parker and obviously is one of the more stable characters of the show whereas Kyle is modeled after Matt Stone and this character also displays a certain amount of stability. Throughout the series there are accounts of his deep friendship between Stan and Kyle. Since the creators are best friends from college, in many of the episodes there is a reference to their undying friendship, They have their fights but they do so without having any long-term effect on their friendship. Stan also maintained a close relation with Kenny and at many a times Kenny has confessed, â€Å"Stan is the best friend a guy could ever have.† Stan is also the only character who has a stable relationship with Wendy. All in all he portrays a much subtle version of the characters of South Park. But at the same time Stan is foul mouthed, what the creator are trying to show is how young boys speak to each other when they are alone. Kyle Broflovski is based on Matt Stone and displays great signs of friendship with Stan Marsh. Kyle is also know as the â€Å"only the Jewish kid.† He is one of the sober characters on screen as he portrays to be very smart and intelligent and uses it to solve problems in a more moral and ethical manner compared to theShow MoreRelatedPersonal Experience with The African American Civil Rights Era1546 Words   |  6 Pagesgranted having lived here all my life. It is easy for me to forget the struggles of so many people before us, people without whom this nation would not be as free as it is. Nearly a century after the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in the south were still faced with innumerable injustices, including disenfranchisement, segregation, and violence. 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